Supreme court
The Supreme Court in India has demanded the Centre (the Union government) respond to a petition exposing the scale of organised tiger poaching across Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The petition highlights a special investigation team (SIT) report showing how syndicates—linked to smugglers, hawala operators, and cross-border traffickers—are exploiting weak surveillance outside reserves.
The Supreme Court notice, issued by Chief Justice Bhushan R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran, could open the way for a CBI probe into tiger killings. The SIT report even traced tiger skins and bones moved through Myanmar, revealing networks stretching across South East Asia.
Lawyer Gaurav Kumar Bansal, who filed the petition, pointed out that nearly 30% of India’s tigers live outside protected zones, in corridors and territorial forests that remain largely unguarded. These corridors are now prime targets for organised poaching gangs. Without stronger protection and proper tiger corridors, India risks losing its national animal to crime networks that thrive on loopholes.
The Supreme Court article:
Based on Hindustan Times, India.
Photo via Hindustan Times.
